Links in “Fines, Penalties, Suits, and Settlements”

HUD's Office of Inspector General alleges misconduct in hiring practices, including the hiring of a former registered lobbyist who used her position to further an agenda favorable to her former employer and to hire employees without proper vetting. There were also efforts to obstruct the OIG's investigation, including threats to charge investigators for their "inappropriate actions." [2/5/15]

Non-profit group sent testers of various racial groups portraying themselves as first-time home buyers under similar circumstances into an M&T Bank loan office in New York. The results? The group is now suing the bank in Manhattan federal court. How would your financial institution fare? [2/4/15]

Corinthian College is on the hot seat for conducting what the CFPB has defined as “predatory” lending. The current and former students of Corinthian College will be receiving a total of $480 million in debt relief. [2/4/15]

The CFPB is asking a federal district court to ban Union Workers Credit Services from offering any type of credit product or service after the company took part in a “bogus credit card operation.” [2/4/15]

When huge fines can be deducted as ordinary business expenses, taxpayers are in effect subsidizing corporate misconduct. For example, $7 billion of JPMorgan's $13 billion deal was reported as deductible. There are new efforts afoot to outlaw the deductibility of certain types of penalties. [2/4/15]

New York Times reports that Wells Fargo's litigation front did not have a good week when it lost a legal battle against a couple facing foreclosure of its $142,000 Missouri home. The couple has been awarded more than $3 million. In another case, a judge found there was substantial evidence that Wells Fargo had simply forged evidence to enforce its claim on a $170,000 property in New York. [2/2/15]

ACLU sues a company and judge in Georgia on behalf of an African-American teenager who was jailed for five days for not paying court fines. "We seek to dismantle this two-tiered system of justice that punishes the poor among us, disproportionately people of color." [2/2/15]

Wendy Wall, former CEO of the now defunct Pepsi Cola FCU, has been sentenced to 21 months in federal prison and ordered to pay restitution to NCUA in the amount of $480,273. Wall was found guilty of embezzling money through a fraudulent loan scheme. [1/28/15]

FinCEN fined Oppenheimer & Co., a broker-dealer, $20 million for failing to perform adequate due diligence on a foreign correspondent account and failing to comply with Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act. This is the third and largest fine Oppenheimer & Co. has experienced in the past 10 years. [1/28/15]

Even if you don't operate in New York or aren't an indirect auto lender, New York's recent action against an indirect auto lender could be a harbinger of how other states may likewise start wielding their Dodd-Frank powers. [1/26/15]